Latest news with #impersonation
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
22 nabbed for suspected involvement in government official impersonation scams
SINGAPORE – A total of 22 people, aged between 22 and 56, were arrested for their suspected involvement in the recent spate of government official impersonation scam cases. In a news release on May 28, police said the 17 men and five women were nabbed following islandwide anti-scam operations conducted between March 13 and May 22. Another four men and five women, aged between 22 and 77, are assisting in the investigations. Police said they have received several reports of scam cases involving the impersonation of banks and government officials since early March. The victim would first receive an unsolicited call from a scammer impersonating a bank officer, typically from DBS, OCBC, UOB or Standard Chartered Bank, or an employee of China-based services such as Union Pay and WeChat, police said. The scammer would tell the victim that he or she was suspected of being involved in a criminal matter, then connect them to another scammer posing as a police officer. This 'police officer' would convince the victim to surrender valuables such as cash, jewellery and bank cards to an 'agent' for investigation. In some cases, the victims would be instructed to buy gold bars, which they would then give up to an 'agent'. Preliminary investigations showed that the 31 people had allegedly facilitated such scam cases by collecting the valuables from the victims. These mules would meet the victims in public places to collect the items from them. They would later hand the items over to another mule, or leave them unattended at a public place to be picked up later. 'Victims would only realise that they had been scammed when the scammers become uncontactable or when they sought verification with the banks or SPF,' police said. Police investigations are ongoing. Those convicted of assisting another to retain benefits from a scam could face a jail term of up to three years, a fine, or both. 'The police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law,' they added. 'To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank account or mobile lines as you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.' Government officials will never, over a phone call, ask them to transfer money, disclose bank log-in details, install mobile apps from unofficial app stores or transfer their call to the police, they said. Police also encouraged members of the public to adopt crime prevention measures, such as installing the ScamShield app, setting security features and checking for scam signs with official sources. In 2024, victims lost a total of $1.1 billion to scams – a record high for a single year. Police also saw the highest number of scam reports ever in the same year, with 51,501 cases recorded compared with 46,563 cases in 2023. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Impersonator breached Chief of Staff Susie Wiles's phone, Trump says
An apparent impersonator breached the phone of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump said Friday, and pretended to be her in calls and messages received by her high-profile contacts. Trump did not go into detail about the impersonation but told reporters he was not concerned because Wiles is 'an amazing woman' who 'can handle it.'
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US government investigates attempt to impersonate Trump's chief of staff
The United States government has opened an investigation into apparent efforts to impersonate White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in communications to politicians. On Friday, a White House official confirmed to The Associated Press that a probe had been opened, following a report about the impersonation in The Wall Street Journal a day prior. Anonymous sources told The Journal that governors, business leaders and senators had received messages and phone calls from someone posing as Wiles, who is a close associate of President Donald Trump. Some recipients told the newspaper that the calls even appeared to replicate Wiles's voice using artificial intelligence. The giveaway, according to The Wall Street Journal, came when the messages asked about items Wiles should know or did not sound like her in other ways. For example, the newspaper reported that some messages were either too formal or had poor grammar. The phone number used was also not Wiles's normal number. Still, some of the sources who spoke to The Journal said they interacted with the impostor before realising it was not, in fact, Wiles herself. On Friday, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, issued a statement denouncing any impersonation campaigns. 'Safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president's mission is a top priority,' said Patel. Earlier this month, the bureau had acknowledged that 'malicious actors' appeared to be mimicking government officials through a 'text and voice messaging campaign'. In Wiles's case, sources close to the chief of staff told The Wall Street Journal that someone had hacked into her personal mobile phone, thereby accessing her contacts. A longtime Republican consultant, Wiles has her political roots in Florida, where she first served as chief of staff to a Republican mayor in the city of Jacksonville. She has since risen to higher echelons in the political sphere, helping to manage the gubernatorial campaign of Republican leader Rick Scott and later serving in a similar role in two of Trump's presidential bids. In 2016, she led operations in Florida for Trump's first successful election campaign, and in 2024, she served as his national campaign manager. Two days after his re-election victory, on November 7, Trump announced Wiles would be accompanying him to the White House as his chief of staff, a role that oversees daily activities for the president. The chief of staff also coordinates policy development and supervises White House staff. While the FBI has yet to confirm how Wiles's personal contacts got into the hands of her impersonator, US media has noted that Trump's presidential campaign announced in August 2024 that it had been hacked by Iran and that sensitive documents were stolen.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Susie Wiles catfish texted contacts asking for cash and pardons
A catfish posing as Susie Wiles, Donald Trump's chief of staff, texted and called her contacts asking for cash and presidential pardons, it has been reported. Ms Wiles, who is considered the most powerful woman in the White House, has privately told colleagues her personal cell phone was hacked and mined for executive contacts. The FBI has launched an investigation following the breach. The impostor is said to have sent a series of text messages and phone calls to Republican lawmakers using Artificial Intelligence to mimic her voice, according to the Wall Street Journal. In one case, the impersonator is said to have asked for a cash transfer and in another, asked a lawmaker to put together a list of people who could be pardoned by Donald Trump. 'The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated,' a White House spokeswoman said. 'The FBI takes all threats against the president, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness,' Kash Patel, the FBI director, said in a statement. 'Safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president's mission is a top priority.' 'Malicious voice messaging campaign' Earlier this month, the FBI warned of 'an ongoing malicious text and voice messaging campaign' where actors have impersonated senior US officials to target individuals. 'The malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages — techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively — that claim to come from a senior US official in an effort to establish rapport before gaining access to personal accounts,' a warning by the bureau read in May. The White House has struggled with information security. A hacker who breached the communications service used by Mike Waltz, the former national security adviser, earlier this month intercepted messages from a broad swathe of American officials. And late last year, a White House official said the US believed that an alleged sweeping Chinese cyber espionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon targeted and recorded telephone calls of 'very senior' American political figures. Ms Wiles has reportedly been targeted by hackers at least once before, in the final months of Mr Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. At the time, hackers alleged by US authorities to be acting on behalf of Iran approached journalists and a political operative with a variety of messages sent to and from Ms Wiles, some of which were eventually published.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
US government is investigating messages impersonating Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles
WASHINGTON — The government is investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures in recent weeks received messages from someone impersonating Susie Wiles , President Donald Trump's chief of staff. A White House official said Friday the matter is under investigation and the White House takes cybersecurity of its staff seriously. ,The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
